Picture Perfect
by DammitimmaD
Summary: It's the morning after Klaus' 'death' and Elijah is browsing through his brothers study. He finds many sketches of Caroline but he finds something else... Just because they didn't have photos back then doesn't mean they don't have pictures of their human days.


Picture Perfect

Elijah stood in the doorway of his brothers old study, almost too nervous to enter. Kol and Rebekah were asleep upstairs so the house was silent. The study was cluttered and the smell of the newly varnished oak desk danced around Elijah's nose.

He took a tentative step forward and moved to the desk where an array of sketch pads were spread across the surface.

For a second his fingers hovered above one, he closed his eyes as images of his recently deceased brother rushed through his mind. Elijah sighed softly and lifted the pad gently, tenderly taking a seat in the large leather armchair.

A faint smile appeared on his face as he recognized Caroline Forbes in the first few sketches. Elijah had to admit she was beautiful, but he skipped over the pictures, browsing through the most recent sketches.

He came to the middle of the sketchpad, a bunch of individual sketches had been slotted into the book. Suddenly he froze, his expression softening and a smile came to his lips.

It was him. Not of recent times... It was the human him. Teenager him.

In the picture Elijah was leaning over a small stream, a wooden spear in his hands, he would have been eighteen years old because sitting on a rock nearby were five year old twins Kol and Rebekah.

Elijah smiled at the memory. He had taught the thirteen year old Klaus to fish, but while in the middle of his lesson Kol had thrown a pebble at him as he perched on a stone. It hadn't ended well for him as he found himself sitting in the water, soaking wet as his little brothers and sister laughed uncontrollably on the dry land.

Every detail was perfect, the uncontainable mirth in Rebekah's bright smile, the sparkle of mischief in Kol's eyes, the lines of concentration on his own forehead, his tongue poked out the side of his mouth.

Elijah slowly placed the page on the chair beside him and looked to the next one, taking the individual papers from the book and placing the pad back on the desk.

The next one was again of him, he couldn't place where it was or what he was doing, he was simply looking away. His head was tilted up to the side, it must have been a memory of Klaus' because it was like the viewer was looking up at Elijah. The light was shining behind him, Klaus had portrayed him as so perfect, so strong... He felt a pang in his chest as he thought of his brother.

The next one was of Kol and Henrik, they were play fighting in the small house they had lived in. The two were young, very young. Henrik looked to be only four years old which would have made Kol only six. The older of the two was lying on his back as the four year old pounced on him. Both wore smiles brighter than the sun, their eyes sparkling with happiness, laughter and innocence. Elijah closed his eyes as he thought of how he had lost both of his baby brothers, one to the wolves and the other to their vampire nature.

The next one was of Esther when they were young. She was sitting back on a chair, in her arms lay a newborn baby, Elijah knew it was Henrik. The two year old twins were clambering on her lap, Rebekah had her tiny head on Esther's shoulder, her hand clutching Finn behind her. Their thirteen year old brother was kneeling at Esther's side, his hand on her knee as Rebekah put her own hand on his shoulder to balance.

Elijah himself was in the middle of placing Kol down, the toddler was reaching out with pudgy hands, placing them on the slumbering babe. The older Mikaelson's were laughing at Kol's actions and the look of pure curiosity on his face as he observed his new brother.

He placed it carefully with the other four and looked at the last picture. It was of all of them again, they were down by the by the falls, it was the summer before Henrik died. Elijah remembered it perfectly.

The falls were splashing in the background as the siblings played in the water. Esther was sitting to the side watching with a loving smile on her face. Finn had Henrik in his arms and was about to throw the laughing fifteen year old into the water. Both seemed so happy it made Elijah long for those days, when life was simple and his family was together. Kol had thrown Rebekah over his shoulder and gone up to tease his twin at the top of a tall rock, completely unaware as Elijah tackled them both into the water below.

Elijah smiled slightly, he could almost smell the damp forest, the clean, pure woods in which he had lived his entire human life. He could hear the birds, the trees rustling with the soft summer breeze that played with his Mother's hair.

He sighed softly and ran his fingers over the picture tenderly, tracing the excitement of Rebekah's now passive face, the carefree glint of mischief in Kol's now dark brown eyes, the innocence in Henrik's smile, the happiness in Finn's expression, and the love in his Mother's eyes.

How things had changed...

But Elijah was glad for one thing.

He would always have his memories, and like the pictures he would treasure them for all eternity.

(Yo, I'm a break line. Fo shizzle)(Yo, I'm a break line. Fo shizzle)

Hellooo ;) hope you enjoyed more fluff from me ;) I certainly enjoyed writing it! Reviews are welcome! As are prompts! This has been done on my phone so sorry for the terrible format ;) 


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